Refrigerator appliances generally include a cabinet that defines a chilled chamber for receipt of food articles for storage. The refrigerator appliances can also include various storage components mounted within the chilled chamber and designed to facilitate storage of food items therein. Such storage components can include racks, bins, shelves, or drawers that receive food items and assist with organizing and arranging of such food items within the chilled chamber.
While food articles or other items stored in door bins or drawers may be conveniently accessed, items placed on shelves in the chilled chamber are often difficult to reach, particularly when placed near the back of the shelf. For example, due to the width and depth of conventional refrigerators and the fact that the shelves are fixed within the chilled chamber, a user must often reach deep into the chilled chamber to access items. Moreover, large items can obstruct or impede storage and access of smaller food items within the chilled chamber. Therefore, a user may need to remove items on the front of the shelf in order to reach items on the back of the shelf. These difficulties lead to consumer frustration and discomfort when placing items in or removing items from the chilled chamber.
Accordingly, a refrigerator appliance with features for improving storage of and access to food items stored within the chilled chamber of the refrigerator appliance would be useful. More particularly, a refrigerator appliance with features for manipulating the storage shelves to facilitate access to rear portions of the shelf would be particularly beneficial.